England won the 4th and final T20I against Pakistan at the Kennington Oval. Despite Haris’s 3-fer, all other bowlers went all over the park.
With the T20 World Cup T20I just a day away, this was the last series for both teams to do their experiments before the World Cup in the USA. The first and third matches were washouts and the 2nd T20I was won by England by 23 runs.
Last Night, Pakistan’s opening pair was changed after quite some time and the captain Babar Azam was back with his partner Muhammad Rizwan. Both gave a great start by scoring 59 in the powerplay. With Babar losing his wicket the Pakistani middle order collapsed in a mint.
Rashid’s Magical Spell
After a great start given by the openers Rashid’s magic took Rizwan’s wicket with a googly and then Fakhar Zaman’s wicket was a bonus because next up was Shadab’s stumps. These three wickets took Pakistan on the back foot.
Iftikhar and Usman helped somewhat TO REACH 126 RUNS. With Usman’s wicket by Liam Livingstone, Pakistan was in a total spot of bother and they were all wrapped up for 157 inside their 20 overs.
The England way of playing
While Shaheen and Naseem may have been unlucky to give up 18 runs without getting anything in the opening two, the rest of the match was a one-sided thumping. Even the wicket’s pace favored the hitters, as Buttler and Salt’s timing and touch caused their touches to fly to the boundary. Flustered and anxious, Pakistan’s bowlers found their pace one-dimensional and their lengths wobbling. The English openers could have easily taken full advantage of the situation.
England chased down the target in 15.3 overs.